


I'm Worried About Him

by AC_Fan



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15286062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AC_Fan/pseuds/AC_Fan
Summary: Joyce is worried about Mike - with secret backpacks, fighting in broad daylight and a devil-may-care attitude, who wouldn't worry?





	I'm Worried About Him

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I threw together in like, one and a half hour. Shoutout to @OTTSTF for proofreading this.

"I'm worried about him", Joyce said. And that was enough to make him go overboard in checking up on Mike Wheeler. After all, if Joyce Byers was worried about his daughter's practical boyfriend, Jim Hopper had a moral obligation to make sure the kid was okay; any and all secrets he might find were entirely disregarded in his thinking.

And now here he was, a few days later, in the Byers's kitchen, waiting for His Majesty to come over; despite the multiple nightmarish scenarios they had battled, it appeared to be the case that Wheeler still took his sweet time arriving anywhere and everywhere.

And when he did arrive, he immediately went for Will's bedroom; practically tackling Jonathan in the hallway, who was going for his afternoon shift. Swinging around him and yelling ‘Hi’ to Joyce, Jim was surprised Wheeler managed to get around in day to day life; a graceful presence, he was not.

"Hold up", Jim hollered at him, and by some miracle Mike managed to stop without falling on his face. He was thankful for that; the kid's face wasn't exactly pretty anymore. Wheeler was looking at him with a unique expression: anger, discomfort and eagerness (to get out of here) all rolled into one; it was quite the sight.

"Yeah?" was all he was able to say before Will bounded out of his bedroom, probably wondering about the holdup.

"Hey buddy, mind if I borrow him for a few minutes?" Jim asked (said) to Will before getting up and pushing Will back into the bedroom with a "Thanks!". He thought he heard a faint ‘Sure.’ through the wood, but his mind was on other matters.

"Take a seat, Wheeler" he told him while unsuccessfully trying to force him into a chair directly next to him. Mike wriggled out of his grasp and sat across from him, near Joyce.

"What's this about?", Mike asked curtly before immediately launching into a tirade, "You can't cancel my visit again, you did that the last time. It's been more than a week now-"

"Jesus, will you let me talk?", Jim bellowed, before continuing, "Unfortunately, yes, tomorrow's visit is still on. This is about a different matter." Jim saw Mike practically shutdown his face, arranging it into a near perfect mask of polite interest.

"Ok, I'm listening" - if Jim hadn't known how much of an emotional hurricane the little tyke was, he'll have assumed that the kid was just a slightly aloof teenager; instead, Jim only said "Joyce has been worried about you".

He watched for a reaction (he got none, damn the kid was going to be great at poker) before continuing, "Actually, she was worried a few days ago, after the incident. Your past interactions, coupled with your behaviour at school, made her suspicious and she asked me for my opinion".

Joyce merely said, "I merely asked for your opinion, not an investigation".

"I'm a police officer, Joyce - the two go hand in hand for me. Right, Wheeler? You gonna explain your actions?"  
  
Wheeler shot at him, "Which ones?", to which Jim immediately shot back, "How about all of them? The morning 'run'? The gym? The fight?".

Mike scoffed at him, "You found me suspicious enough to follow me for multiple days? I'm flattered, honestly I am, Chief. I started going to the gym to get ready for a situation where I might need to fight, which the altercation with Troy was. Or would you have preferred that Will came home bruised and crying? My morning run is pretty calming; line up targets, aim, fire at will. I'm sure you understand."

"Wait what?!", Joyce interjected, which was understandable - a 13 year old had practically admitted to periodically doing target practice; the fact that she considered him practically family didn't help matters. "Hop, what's he talking about?", she asked in a hushed but insistent tone.

Before Jim could reply, the kid interjected with, "I paid Doctor Owens a visit in the hospital. We spoke, and while leaving, I told him it would be a shame if the government _‘accidentally’_ left behind some weapons in their haste to get out of Hawkins. He must have got the message, ‘cause I found a closet's worth of equipment - guns, bulletproof vests, ammunitions - when I broke into the lab".

Jesus fucking Christ. That explained quite a bit - where he got the guns, primarily; but Jim had a suspicion about the backpacks.  
"Wheeler, what's in those backpacks you have hidden away in the Byers's shed?", he asked through gritted teeth.

Mike took a moment to study the man before replying, "Anything and everything we'll need if we ever need to go on the run."  _This is why I fucking hate people sometimes_ , Jim thought. "I'm assuming 'we' here refers to you and my daughter?" Mike answered with a curt nod.

"And what exactly does that include?"

"Guns, cash, fake documents - as good as I could make. You know, the usual." The _nerve on this kid, the fucking nerve._ "Don't you dare judge me Hopper, we all know what you did a year ago."

Jim's face must have blanched and shown what he was feeling, because he continued, "There were a grand total of 8 people who could have told the Lab we were at Hawkins Middle School - us kids, the teenagers and the adults. We obviously didn't tell the government assholes where we were, Nancy and Jonathan were busy being idiots and trying to kill the monster all on their own here, which leaves us with the two of you. Mrs. Byers, unlike you, is a decent human being - well, she's a lot more than that. The only option left is you. You, who have shown that he doesn't mind lying, beating and being an all around asshole to feed your hero complex. And it is a hero complex, don't try to deny it. I am under no such obligation - my friends, my family and El, they’re all I care about protecting. The only reason I didn't tell El about you immediately after she woke up after closing the gate was because she obviously cared about you, and you seemed to have done a semi-decent job of taking care of her." He finished with a huff and said, "I don't even know why I bothered talking to you. See you around, Chief. Mrs. Byers", saying the last words to Joyce and in a much softer tone, before getting up abruptly and practically running out of the house.

"I'm assuming his sister helped him to learn how to shoot?", Joyce asked in a whisper.

Jim nodded slowly and said, "I don't think she knows about all of this, though. Probably taught him with her own gun." Of course, because peace and quiet are things that Jim Hopper does not deserve, or at least that's what the universe seems to think, Will decided to come out of his room at that moment.

"Well, that went as well as expected, all things considered", he said in a sage-like voice, before continuing in a much more mischievous tone, "You noticed how he said El differently from friends and fam-"

"Yes, Will, I did notice. Thank you for the input", Jim told him through gritted teeth.

He cheekily replied back with, "Any time, Chief" before retreating back to his room. A few moments after that, the opening tones of 'Every Breath You Take' could be heard, that infernal song that seemed to have taken over the cabin in recent weeks.  
  
‘ _I hate people.’_ That was the only thought Jim had while nursing the beer can at the table, resting his head on it, with the can applied directly to his forehead, for maximum effectiveness.


End file.
